bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

I'm feeling a little like Cinderella right now.

I spent all last night cleaning.
-the bathroom
-putting away laundry
-doing dishes
-and picking up trash.

And tonight I can go to the ball (aka the shins concert) if and only if I:
co-precipitate catalyst #40
wash down the hood windows, floor, sink and counters in the lab
and collect the powder from aminoborane run 5
take out the trash at home
and clean out gobi and hazel's litter box
and change the sheets on my bed
and do more laundry

I even kind look Cinderella like--my hair is a mess (I didn't wash it this morning AND it's all pinned back) and I'm sure I have orange-brown splotches on me from the iron I use. yikes.

so, I want to leave in an hour and a half. I just don't think that's going to happen.

anyone know how to conjure up a fairy godmother?

ps? I am SO SO SO excited about this weekend!

i am like...

my mother:
I am creative. I take life like it is. I like to use weird sayings. I just want people to get along. And my favorite pen of all is the papermate profile. I have hair like my mother and a face like my mother. And I get strangely addicted to things all of the sudden and then they become extra popular. I love scrabble and vocabulary.

my father:
I am stubborn. And opinionated. And loud. And I can sing. And I have rhythm (though not grace, lest ye be confused). And sometimes I get angry when I really, really shouldn't. I don't like to admit I'm wrong unless it's irrefutable.

my grandmother:
I have a great "game face." I like to be prim and proper and polite, and can be so even when I don't want to. I like to spend a little and look like I spent a lot. And some people would probably accuse me of having weird priorities with my money. I want to give everything I've got in everything I do. And I won't tolerate bad service or bad attitudes. I hold myself to very high standards.

my grandfather:
for my immediate family I serve as the glue (not always, adam, but a lot of the time). I love love love getting a bargain--but only if it's something I actually want/need. I like to tell terrrrrrrible jokes. and I like making people laugh. I can be serious and practical when I need to be, and I like doing things myself instead of paying someone else. Sometimes I find that the best thing to do is shut my mouth and let other people talk it out. And I value my time by myself.

my sister:
I can be obnoxiously loud. sometimes I ramble on with every little detail when just a few would've sufficed. I like to collect things. random things. and sometimes not on purpose--it just happens. i am very sentimental and i will beat your ass if you mess with someone who is my friend. and sometimes i let people walk all over me or take advantage of me and i don't even realize it. i am proud to be me.

my younger brother:
i am sarcastic. i like to pick something and get real real involved in it. and i am comfortable making decisions that other people may not agree with. i also have a green thumb (though, for the record, i can't grow aloe vera, and he has more of it than he knows what to do with). i hold grudges, but only if it's deserved. and I am a nerd.

my youngest brother:
i have lots and lots of friends and I make them easily. neither of us know how we do it, but we do. i am musically inclined (though he sooooo wins). i like for everyone to get along. and i like it when my family is all together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been thinking about this a lot recently. I'd be lying to you if I told you it didn't have anything to do with my grandfather. But sometimes it strikes me--hey, Anna does that! Or Granny does that! Or Dan did that! And it freaks me out a little.

I am baffled by just how much we are the product of our experiences. And I'm amazed to find how strongly a few have affected me...I can't stand it when people aren't treated fairly, I am always concerned that someone will be left out and I'm anxious about going to my boyfriend's house for Christmas. I save everything, I have more yarn and pens than I will ever use and I constantly find myself in more and more positions with my church--how did that happen?!? I hate guns, will always try a new veggie (or one I think I don't like) and I speak up even if I'm the only one with the contrary opinion.

If you've known me long enough, you can probably pinpoint some of the pieces of my life that have created these tendencies. And if you think about it, you can probably identify your own experience-reality relationships.

but it's been on my mind, and I just wanted to share.

the four one one.

so, in the past my birthday hasn't exactly always been superawesomelyrad. they've all had good moments, but kind of sweet and sour, y'know? I started to make a real list of the bad things, but I decided I'd just go with the gist--recent birthdays have included: food poisoning, being dumped a week before, paying for my own dinner 'cause my boyfriend's card got declined, deciding to leave my ex-husband and taking the FE (fundamentals of engineering exam--eight hours of hell).

for the record: there have also been some WONDERFUL things to even those out--I am an especially lucky girl with especially exceptional friends. someone took me out downtown, someone arranged for birthday fun in durham, people bought me drinks or presents or sushi and spent their time with me, and one birthday in particular two amazing sisters of mine papered TU's campus with signs telling people it was my birthday. I really don't have a lot to complain about once you balance it out--the part that's bad has more to do with significant others than anything, but anyhoo.

so this year? best birthday yet! and it'll be as good as it can possibly be--well, at least without getting to see all my lovelies who live in other states (hawaii, florida, alaska, mass, oklahoma, texas, colorado, california et al. i'm sure I missed some)

and this? this is the plan.

yesterday-got my first birthday present!
friday-sterling and christina come into town. the four of us (matt, too) go to see The Shins!
saturday-amusement park. hooray for roller coasters! additionally, dinner with mary alise and michael in richmond, woo hoo!
sunday-I get my birthday kiss at church. I am so excited about this I can't even explain. but it's adorable.
tuesday-the actual day. plans tba.
friday, next-go out with friends. likely sushi and bowling and beer, oh my! too much fun!

so, um, yeah. those are the birthday plans. and that? that's what I call celebrating. :)

also, fun thing. well, sorta. I had to get a new table. so, um I did. and it's pretty and just like kara's, and I was suuuuuper excited because I got to paint my placemats green! I bought them black, painted them brown and now they're green. my my my, spray paint is most excellent when used properly. it's a color called seaweed. you like?
and, opinion needed--do I:
a) change the candles to green (instead of red) and leave the things on the side of the mirror brown?
b) change the candles to green but also paint the things on the side of the mirror the same green as the mats?
c) paint the candle holders AND the mirror that same green and also change the candles?

what do you think? also, please note the pretty artwork on the wall from b.a.k. and do know that my picture of the daisies will return to its usual place underneath it once I get the photo back from the RTI people. the green seriously makes me want to buy these two pieces and hang them where the red one is to tie it all in, and then put the red one somewhere else...guess I'll have to see how much I can save from my birthday and christmas, hmm?

yay for it almost being thursday! oooh, and yay for today being matt and my seven monthaversary!

recipe update.

so, there are a couple of recipes that I'm trying here--I haven't gotten them all done yet, but I'm making progress. and here's my assessment of the ones I've tried:

do not under any circumstances make the penne and grape tomatoes and mozzarella--it is gross. I felt very wasteful, but when I realized that after each bite I was making the "ew, this is pretty gross but not gross enough to actually spit out" face I dumped the whole lot of it in the trash. Thank goodness I only made a half batch. Next time I want something simple it'll be penne, grape tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil. I know that'll be better.

the shrimp fried rice was good, and I agree it'd be good with chicken, too. it's from everyday food #45, and here's the recipe, with a few carrie-amendings. it's better this way, I think. their idea of having a fine mesh sieve on hand is just silly.

you'll need:
salt, 1 1/2 cups rice (uncle ben's, basmati, whatever), 2 tsp veg oil, 2 large eggs, 1 pound shrimp, no tails, no veins and chopped, 2 carrots thinly sliced (or 6 or 7 baby carrots, thinly sliced, that's what I had on hand), 2 scallions sliced (separate white and green parts), 2-3 cloves garlic, 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic, 1/4 cup light soy sauce, 1/4 cup lime juice. and frozen peas, if you like 'em. I thought they were a great addition.

cook the rice. let it cool. if necessary put it in a pan and put it in the fridge or freezer (but if it's the freezer make sure it doesn't actually freeze!). you can do this ahead of time if you want.

while the rice is cooking/cooling, scramble some eggs with ~1 tsp oil and once they're done take 'em out of the pan and let them cool.

in the same skillet you used for the eggs add more oil. add shrimp, carrots, whites of scallion, garlic and ginger. cook until shrimp is opaque, tossing when needed, about 3-5 minutes. then add eggs, soy sauce, lime juice and stir. then add the rice, a little bit at a time.

cook until the rice is warm and serve. if you want it spicier add a dash or three of cayenne, it compliments the ginger well.

I also made salmon one night this week--though not any of the recipes I listed since it was just me eating--but the parmesan rice I made to go with it was good. but it was really just cooked rice with a little butter, parmesan and fresh parsley. no need for a recipe on that one!

my...

~birthday is on the 23rd of october. 4:11am, central. I will be twenty seven. which feels old, but not in the "man I'm old" kind of way but in the "all growed up" kind of way. I like it.

~latest load of laundry got washed with my burts bees lip balm in the pocket, which means two things.
a. i need another tube of burts bees (but it's a good thing I have backups)
b. i need to know how to remove this from my clothes. i've heard goo gone or wd40 followed by dish detergent. anyone have know-how about this?

~current book I'm reading is Charlotte's Web. I went to read some of The Alienist yesterday and had to put it down and get Charlotte's Web instead. Oh, Fern. And The Zuckermans. And Lurvy. Man I love this book.

~favorite color is still pink. this cute little girl at my softball game last night, Faith, didn't believe me. but it is, I swear!

~body is still kind of weak even thought my stomach seems to be much improved. playing softball yesterday was WAY harder than I expected.

~ears hurt because the lady-ump shrieked "stee-riiiiiike!" with a high shrill the whole game.

~house is a mess, I need to clean it.

~tummy is hungry already and it's only 1045. yikes.

this is the forty second week of the year!

and that, my friends, is yet another reason that october is splendid. :)

do you ever sometimes get all giddy all the sudden? that's how I am. like, right now!

perhaps it's the puppy chow I just INHALED.
perhaps it's the fact that I see Sterling and Christina in four days.
perhaps it's listening to The Shins and knowing that I'll be seeing them all live and in person and stuff on friday.
perhaps it's wearing my new pale pink long sleeved shirt with my gray one over it a'la baseball style.
perhaps it's the colder weather.
perhaps it's that TU won.
perhaps it's talking about birthday celebrating.
or perhaps it's that I'll be playing softball tonight AND watching heroes AND eating yummy food AND getting to see matt.

as cake would say, "perhaps, perhaps, perhaps." :D

so, my friend olivia showed me this cool thing that the ever-ahead-of-the-crowd san fran is doing this coming sunday. and in march? they're going to ask all of america to participate. you can bet your patootie I'll be reminding you all.

also, for those of you living in the rain-soaked part of the country (I'm talkin' to you oklahomans)--if you don't already know, the triangle area is under stage three water restrictions. that's a lot of "do nots" that they're placing on it.

which makes me think of how it's sad that we have to remind people not to be wasteful--of energy, of water, of anything. and why the hell do we still have to tell people "don't leave the tap running when you're brushing your teeth!"

me? one new thing I've learned is that they recommend that you used a container to catch the water that runs while you're waiting for the water to get hot--and use it to water your plants or keep it in a bin that's soapy for dish-washing or whatever.

some other tips/factoids:
~you can calculate your carbon footprint here--I was doing well until I had to enter in my flights in the past year...oopsie.
~here's the tips from lights out america
~and what do I think you can do, today, to help even just a little? go buy some cfl light bulbs. they aren't THAT expensive and they are so so so worth it. and then when you're letting the water run until it heats up? collect that water that's going from cold to cool to warm to hot and use it to water your plants. unplug things when you aren't using them--cell phone and laptop chargers, microwaves, toasters, tvs, whatever. and for heavens sake, walk instead of drive whenever possible.
~plant a tree. grow a plant. do it, do it, do it.

and be nice to spiders. ;)

by the way, I think somebody removed gertrude. she's not there and neither is her web. after expressing my dismay at how she'll be dying soon, matt told me I'd read charlotte's web one too many times. this might be accurate. but I'm going to put it next on my list of books anyway.

it was my very favorite book for a long long long time, and when I read it for the first time was the first of MANY times I got in trouble for school. in trouble for working/reading/learning ahead. I read the whole thing by myself before we were a third of the way through in my first grade class and my mom had to come talk to my teacher. oopsie.

anyhoo. I can *finally* do my experiment now since my cylinder is ready. toodles. and yay for good moods!

well, that was the most well-timed accidental pause, um, ever.

~said by yours truly to matt, who was trying to be funny by saying "so, she wants lots of cocks in her, uh, kitchen?" referring, by the way, to a napkin holder that I thought a friend would like because it had a rooster on it. random, but it was pretty adorable.

matt and I went to the fair on friday, and it was wooooooonderful. we had such a good time. and we supported united methodist churches by eating at their booths, and that made me happy.

I'm not positive I can remember everything we split, but here's what I can recall: a cheeseburger, a corndog, abbq sandwich, chicken on a stick, roasted corn, soda, lemonade, a funnel cake and cotton candy. and we rode the ferris wheel and this crazy spin-ee thing, too. and it was surprisingly not crowded, too!

and here's our cuteness in picture form--and some random ones I took, too.

yesterday was a baby shower, errands and then dinner and superbad with patty and darren. the movie was rather hilarious in parts, I must say, but it was definitely crude, too! totally worth the laughs...

and then today was church, a nap, errands, a visit to the suuuper sale at old navy and youth group. I'm excited to be volunteering but it seems like things are going to keep getting busier...but at least it looks like it'll be fun things!

real-quick-like.

today has been a busy day, but it also included sushi lunch so I've really no room to complain.

and I'm leaving work before 5 since I stayed suuuuuuper late yesterday.

and and and. Matt and I are going to the fair. And since my tummy seems to be liking these probiotic thingies we're going to try to "eat our way" through the fair. We can only buy one of anything and we're going to share it. And I want to ride the ferris wheel. And have fun. And go to bed before 1am. :)

have a fabulous friday, folks. y'all deserve it.

toodles.

she runs guns everyone wants guns she runs guns everyone wants there she goes

~jeremy fisher

okay, so I'm having a really hard time with this book thing for the baby shower. I figured hardcover was the way to go except they are SO expensive. I came home with You Are Special but I might return/exchange it today. I'm hoping to find the board book, which is like $7 and then get another book in paperback. I just wasn't going to spend $35 on a shower gift anyway, at least not for someone I'm not really really good friends with.

so anyway. we'll see. but the poor manager at barnes and noble probably thought I was a little bit of a nutcase.

but just a little.

the girl scout meeting went well. it was quite clear we were winging it, but that's okay. and there's a girl who has to explain EVERYTHING. and it makes me a leeeetle crazy. especially because when I say "alright, we'll we're going to talk about that next time, could you tell us about it then?" she replies "but it's all in my head and I gotta get it out!"

I think I'm going to ask matt for some pointers about girls like this. Kim suggested that I tell her to write it down. I thought if I asked her to wait that would help. only time will tell.

and? the girls LOVE that I know songs. :D even the moms joined in. we sang "Oh an Austrian Went Yodeling" and did the motions and everything.

oh, and the princess pat for whoever asked for it...

the princess pat lived in a tree

she sailed across the seven seas

she sailed across the channel two

and took with her a rick-a-bam-boo

a rick-a-bam-boo now what is that?

it's something made by the princess pat

it's red and gold and purple too

that's why it's called a rick-a-bam-boo

now captain jack had a mighty fine crew

he sailed across the channel two

but his ship sank and yours will too

if you don't take a rick-a-bam-boo

(repeat chorus)

yay for girl scout songs! :) I Cannot. Believe. How. Many. Of. Them. Are. Still. In. My. Head. Tonya can tell you. We sure did sing a lot of 'em in Atlantic City. Which is why George thinks she likes me better. ha!

tonight will hopefully be low-key. I'll go home, make that penne tomato mozzarella pasta and watch life since I dv-r'd it, then go to b&n and the grocery store for some OJ. and then grey's! and maybe if I'm feeling extra adventurous I'll clean something. like my room. or my car. before christina and sterling come NEXT FRIDAY! woo hoo!

oh, also. gertrude? she's gonna die soon. :( she laid her eggs though, so maybe we'll have a little friend next spring/summer too. I wonder if my attachment to this spider comes from charlotte's web. I betcha it does. I betcha. anyway, I took a picture of her with her egg sac--see?

and, despite the drought and watering restrictions my tomatoes are THRIVING. between my two roma plants I counted fifty six tomatoes in various stages of growth/ripening. it's amazing. I've never had a plant grow so well! hopefully they'll all come to fruition. ;)

it's especially fun for me, though, because my granddaddy loved loved LOVED growing tomatoes, and I'm pleased to know that I got his green thumb in that department. it's a pity that when he grew them I wasn't a fan of fresh tomatoes (ketchup please, no tomatoes) but now that I love 'em I don't get to have the ones he grew. But I *did* get some pointers from him, so that's kinda fun. I'll have to take pictures for y'all. um, and maybe send you some tomatoes. it looks like I'm gonna have a lot.

ps-thanks mucho for the oodles of comments y'all. I'm loving getting them. :)

here's a bit of a rattlesnake.

~la bamba

so, I hadn't seen this movie in YEARS. but I remember watching it when I was pretty young, like in the little house we lived in until I was, what, eight? and I realize now that I have a hybrid of it and Peggy Sue Got Married stored in my brain. Yesterday I kept wondering when we'd see the car with the flames. Which I realize is from Peggy Sue. I think. Now I need to watch that one.

we were the type of family that watched a video over and over and over and over in succession. we weren't what you'd call well-off (hell, we were on food stamps for a bit) so getting to rent a movie was a BIG DEAL. I recall watching Gremlins on our very own VCR in Tucson and how it was HUGE that we'd gotten it. Apparently I didn't think having an atari was as big of a deal. But then again all that happened when my parents were married and my daddy had a good job.

but I digress.

so we watched La Bamba. And saw all the special features. And were pretty excited about it--something a few weeks ago made Matt and me both think of the movie, so we HAD to watch it. I'm glad we did. And it was fun to sing and dance along. No, really, we did that. What do you mean, "weirdos!"? It was fun!

and I've had the song stuck in my head all day. I even had to look up the translation. And if it's now stuck in yours? That's okay, it's a fun yay-it's-the-middle-of-the-week song, anyway! embrace it!

Also, I talked to my mom yesterday and she told me how she'd had a dream about the past--about living in Bartlesville when I was a little cute toddler and taking me downtown to feel bricks. She couldn't remember why she did that, exactly, but was certain there'd been a good reason.

She called back an hour later to tell me and it cracked me up. Apparently my mommie, who read to us all the time, had told us the story of The Three Little Pigs. And Carrie-the-Curious wanted to know what straw and bricks were. So she took us downtown to show us the bricks--I want to feel it and understand it and learn about it.

god, I'm a nerd.

So, I tell Matt this story and he incredulously asks "You're kidding, right? Didn't you have an imagination when you were a kid?!?"

"yes, I did," I replied. "A very vivid one...but I just wanted to know all the details."

which made him laugh. and look what I've grown up to be. [shakes head]

also, the shrimp fried rice turned out to be quite yummy, thought matt and I both agree it needs less ginger and maybe a little less water/more rice. but it was good. and would go well with chicken too. I'll post the recipe here later--it's not available online. and I added peas because I like 'em!

the southwest chicken skillet from rotel was also good. I marinated the chicken in goya--mmm! but whatever you do, don't leave out the sour cream--it really makes the taste perfect!

and I liked it that I've only had to buy one bunch of scallions for the two recipes and I still have some left. I like being able to use the same ingredient for multiple things.

tonight is my first girl scout troop meeting. I'm excited but a little nervous and I'm kinda tired. Hopefully it will all go well. I'm sure it'll be fine. Right? right. :) Besides, I'm only an assistant leader, so it's only partially my fault if it goes poorly. ha!

health update: my tummy seems to be doing better. I mean, I've only been on this probiotic for, what, five days, but it seems to be helping. I imagine eating home-cooked food is probably a good thing too.

oh, and the new paste cd is good. I really really love this magazine. I'm definitely resubscribing.

and while I'm at it, I think I'll share a list of artists whose cds I want. because, well, maybe you'll tell me some good ones, too!

jeremy fisher
rebecca loebe
meiko
vinyl strangers
sarah borges

save the spiders. save the world.

so, last night the man across the way stopped by to see if I had any superglue. namely, the superglue he gave me like, oh six months ago (who keeps the same thing of superglue AND keeps it working for that long, hmm?). anyway, when he came up to the door a little spider was falling from the door frame, and my neighbor john whacked it out of the way.

he didn't want to just move it out of his way, he wanted to kill it.

it fell on john's shirt, and he began to swat at the poor little spider again, and he killed it.

I pointed to Gertrude, an argiope who has spun her web between the bushes by my front window and my outside wall, and said "I just wanted you to know, I'd really appreciate it if you don't kill her."

he said to me, in a tone that clearly meant that I'd lost my mind, "but Carrie, that's a spider."

I explained to him that, yes, it is a spider. A harmless spider who isn't gonna bite anybody and even if she did it wouldn't be a big deal, she's not poisonous. (don't you love how I've assigned a gender to this spider? And named her? And sometimes? Sometimes I call her Gertie.)

I also let him know that she's been here for two months or more and she's been minding her own business, so could he please just leave her alone?

and he said he would. thank goodness. so anyway, here she is from when I first noticed her in August.

so here's the thing: the creatures of the earth? they were here first. whether you're a creation-ist or a scientist or a big-bang-ish or some hybrid of the three, all signs point to "yes" that lizards and monkeys and ants and giraffes and lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) and cats and dogs and spiders were here before we were.

so while I get that some animals need to be used for food (or maybe not, go argue with an argumentative vegetarian about this one, it's not my point here) and that some need to be killed because they carry diseases (mad cow, rabies, west nile, lyme disease), and that some are just plain unsanitary (again, with the diseases, like cockroaches or house flies) it's just plain insensitive to not take the time to find out if something is really harmful or destructive before you purposefully kill it.

if it's about to attack you/hurt you/kill you? defend yourself. but for crying out loud have a little decency for your fellow earth inhabitant and assess the situation first, if you can.

I'm not saying never. I've used a pesticide before. I've killed ants with a spray because they were streaming into my apartment. But if I see a spider/moth/caterpillar on the sidewalk or in my home I don't go out of my way to kill it. It's simply unkind.

ways to save insect who have mistakenly found their way inside:

1. get a cup and a piece of paper. invert cup over insect. carry outside. release in grassy area.
2. make a trail of graham cracker crumbs out of your house (hey, they say it worked in the secret life of bees)
3. open your window to let whatever it is out if it's flying near the window.
4. make up your own.

and remember that everything has a place in our fragile fragile ecosystem and you might just be killing something that's a very vital part of it.

off soapbox now.

oh, and this message brought to you by a person who is freaked out by the noticeable lack of bees and einstein's theory/surmising on such. and even if it's bunk (which some people say it might be) the fact remains that bees pollinate and we require pollination for plant growth and the notion of wasps having to carry out that function instead gives me the heeby-jeebies.

grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it to me again tomorrow...

~the princess bride

so, I'm going to a baby shower on saturday that has the cutest idea (which I'm totally using again for patty's shower 'cause I'm an avid reader and I think it's simply brilliant). the idea is this: don't bring a card, bring a book for the baby. reading is SO important, you know?

in my opinion, aside from, y'know, life itself, it's one of the most valuable gifts you can ever give a child. nay, a person.

anyway, I'm having a hard time choosing, and that made me wonder what your favorite books are, too. I didn't learn of all these as a child, but sometimes you have to be an adult in a complicated world to realize that it's the simple things that pull on your heart strings the hardest.

these are some books I think are wonderful--some touching, some sweet, some with life lessons and some that just remind me of significant times in my life.

I couldn't find some I was looking for--Good Night, Aunt Lilly--about mice sisters and I couldn't pick just one Little Miss and Mr. Men book. But it's a good start. :)

ps-special thanks to, amongst others, my mom and dad, granny, granddad, various teachers, mrs. wallace, renee and del for introducing me to these books--and thanks to you all for sharing yours too!

The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.

~humphrey bogart

*note, I forgot a few pictures, so they're added in. I saved my very favorite for last. and I added links to the recipes where I could...*

the beer festival was spuh-len-did. we had a lot of fun and I think we totally got our money's worth. we had some really yummy beers--some of the ones I particularly liked were:

abita's kriek and belgian white,
big boss's helle's belle belgian blonde,
clipper city brewing co.'s raspberry one,
the great divide's wild raspberry ale,
moon river's sea bee honey bock,
redstone meadery's sunshine and black raspberry,
shipyard's sea dog blueberry ale,
terrapin's rye pale ale and golden ale and
tommyknocker's jack whacker wheat ale.

bellhaven brewery's was a dud though, as was otter creek's. ick ick ick.

we tried to stay away from vendors we drink a lot, at least until the end--so that's why yuengling and blue moon and stuff like that aren't mentioned.

I got two shirts--one from savannah's moon river brewery (which matt bought me) some rather funny boyshorts at the flying dog booth (which matt and sean thought kara and I neeeeded), a big boss brewing shirt (they're local!) and a cool dogfish head glass. I'm quite excited about my purchases!

while there we ran into TWO people from Tulsa--both of whom thought the Tulsan was Matt. Understandably, since he was rockin' the TU apparel. :)

We also ran into a bunch of people--some of kara's co-workers, matt's old roommate, gustaff (for those of you who know him) and his sister and friends and I'm not sure who else the others knew. But all in all? Very fun. And we got a leeetle silly. The boys had fun at the PBR booth and all of the high point peeps (everyone buy me) got extra excited about the high point brewery. We were a little doubtful about the glass size at first (2oz was the "pour size") but it was perfect, and we had a great time--see?

right. yeesh.

and this one is my fave. and it wasn't our idea. but it makes me giggle!

we came home, kara and I took a little siesta while sean and matt went to the store and had a beer at manchesters, we made yummy taco salad and played apples to apples, listened to music and ate puppy chow.

once sean and kara left matt and I watched this incredible movie that I totally see how it changes people's lives. I encourage you to watch (or read, though I've not yet red it) The Ultimate Gift.

And if you're at all a crier I highly recommend having a box of tissues in your general vicinity. And watching the credits. Some of the lines just hit me--like the one about those arms being for you. Just terrific. Terrific.

Saturday was basically a super amazing fantastic day. So good, so good. :D

today I was laaaazy. after I came home from church I slept and slept and then caught up on television. I watched last week's Grey's, Pushing Daisies (which I like!) and the first two eps of Life (thanks for the recommendation Ariel and Chris!) I looked through some recipes too since this week I'm going to cook! I have no obligations monday, tuesday or thursday, and I'm going to enjoy this nice little well-needed break. so far for options on the menu, all from everyday food:

-asian chicken with cashews
-lemony sauteed shrimp with broccoli and peas
-fettuccine with spinach pesto
-penne and grape tomatoes and mozzarella
-shrimp fried rice
-chicken stuffed with herbed couscous and
-salmon with spicy cucumber-pineapple salsa

there's also a southwestern chicken skillet recipe that I found online that's a contender too. it's nice to have lots of options! (and if any of the ones I couldn't find online turn out good I'll be sure to share 'em) and it's nice to know that I have everything I need to make 'em. I'm hoping that the probiotic + home-cooked-lower-fat food + taking it easy all week will really put me back on track. I hope, I hope, I hope.

take my hand, come along, let's go out and have some fun

~steve miller

oh, friday, I am so glad you are here. especially because I am tired and if I have any say in it I'm going to cut out a little early and go home for a short siesta. I did not sleep well last night, y'see...

also: health update. my ultrasound came back "normal." the revised course of action is as follows: go get probiotics. take them. like, for a couple of weeks. if you don't feel better come back.

good news: me and my gall bladder still get to be tight.
bad news: explanation is slightly sketch/what-if oriented, but it'll do for now.

the present theory is as follows:
episode #1- caused by a viral illness. tummy started going back to normal post haste--hence the intermittent discomfort but no real problems for five weeks--I was just getting back on an even keel.
episode #2-caused by antibiotics. saturday I took the last of 'em. sunday I got sick. antibiotics prolly killed all the good bacteria-ee-things that were still on their way to normal levels from episode #1.

which explains the no-alarm-bells bloodwork, questionable-at-best thickening of the ileum from the icky cat scan, the looks-good xray and the recent normal ultrasound. so apparently the probiotics will just help my tummy get the right amount of stuff, and I should be peachy as a clam--er, um, happy with a side of keen?

right.

so, also, I have discovered that I am still quite fragile and/or weepy. and tired. and stressed. please do not wake the bear. or mention death to me, unless you can't avoid it. I need some down time--

and I think this might count. look at all these beers!

I am super excited about going to this tomorrow with Matt, Kara and Sean. super-de-duper. I'd invite you to join us, but it's sold out. It should be fun AND yummy. We're going to the 12-4 session, which is a wonderful time since we can then have an evening in, we'll start wearing off any potential hangover early and since once it turns 12:01pm I won't feel bad about drinking already. :)

but so you know, the rest of the weekend eaaaaaaaaaaasy going, methinks. I have some cleaning to do and some things to accomplish, but all of it'll be done as simply and restfully as I can manage. that's the plan stan.

three more hours to go people. only three, only three, only three.

to the dreamers go the dreams, but the leaders have the lead, it's a frightening, frightening thing.

~guster

i want to be an environmental engineer when I grow up.

so, I watched this video last night. um, strike that, dvd. it was really interesting. and I get it--the electric car has some limitations, like distance it can travel and consumer knowledge. and of course big oil wants us to use gas. duh. but I see why they pulled it, sort of. it's all quite sketch--was it the consumer? oil company? auto companies? gov't? california air regulators? power companies? questions questions questions.

hey, did you know that the foreign hybrids out there (e.g., the prius) are only there because the japanese were responding to the advances of american auto makers? the american auto makers who suddenly quit making electric cars in the early 2000s?

and did you know that if you made the hybrid prius, for instance, with a nimh battery and plugged it in at night in the EV type fashion, for the first fifty or so miles it would get over one hundred miles to the gallon? hmm?

so, I work in energy--specifically most of my work right now is focused on hydrogen capture/purification/sequestration. this hydrogen is ultimately intended for use in a fuel cell. which requires extra pure hydrogen. and really, I'm not 100% positive that fuel cells are ever really going to work. like, ever. well, for a car, anyway. (because as of right now fuel cells are expensive, as is hydrogen, plus they require it to be so pure, and they have trouble when they're cold) and quite honestly, they make me nervous.

for the record, I hope I'm mistaken.

also, we're all stuck on this 300 miles on one tank thing. I think we could learn to get over it if it could make our earth a better place, don't you?

anyway. so, we can grow little microbes and use them to produce biodiesel without putting our foodstock quantities in jeopardy. and we have electric vehicle technology. and I just don't understand why I'm not driving a hybrid plug-in electric/biodiesel vehicle. The biodiesel would allow it to go the 300 miles or more on one tank. The plug-in would help increase fuel mileage.

and even the concern about pulling energy from coal power plants? well, if we'd use a combo of solar, wind and hydroelectric power (using those nifty turbines that I told you about here) we could make huge leaps in going away from coal power in a very earth friendly way.

tut, tut. that's what I have to say. I can't believe we're not doing this already. We already know how!!! shame on us.

but anyway, this isn't meant to be a long rambling about the electric car or gasoline or whatever, though it seems to have turned into it. so moving on.

so I watched the dvd, right? and I got excited. and I found myself thinking about it, and wondering and ruminating and pondering. what if? could we? I wonder what else there is to learn.

now, I am not saying, necessarily, that what I want to work on is alternative fuel/cars. I mean, that's damn interesting, for sure. and it would be a pretty cool way for me to get to "never work for the petroleum industry"--because I'd be working for the exact opposite.

but I realized that I got excited. it sparked interest. as does recycling. or knowing that my recycling my soda can saves enough energy to power a tv for three hours. and being an environmental engineer? that's a fancy way of being an environmentalist. an environmental advocate. except I'd be one that used my love of engineering-nerdy-science and applied it to technology instead of, say your more garden variety environmentalist (not a put down, a pun, k?).

like, I could get behind this. I could find it worthwhile. I could want to find out more, want to do better.

and I could put my heart into it.

and oddly enough, it made me think of when I obsessed over this. I saw it in the antique store and I had to have it. I couldn't not. Because it seemed like the most logical, justifiable and correct thing to do.

and perhaps, just maybe, it is.

where do I go from here? who the hell knows. but at least I've found the head of the trail. :)

silver lining and golden seams

~feist, sea lion woman (very very good song. very. extra. yeah.)

um, okay, so I thought everyone knew. seems they don't. people, should you not know, I take pictures. like a maniac. see? right. if you didn't know, they're there. k? k. thanks.

no news about the ultrasound. they'll likely call me tomorrow. or friday. or monday. I have never *hoped* for a surgery before. It's kind of weird. I just don't don't don't want it to be crohn's. And some people seem to be a little excessive--I read this whole thing about how I could drink A LITER of olive oil and some lemon juice over the course of five hours and also some juice and apples and radishes and the next time I went #2 I could "sift" out the gall stones and they'd be removed from my system (if the problem is indeed gall stones, but then I imagine they'd be stress related and not fatty food related, as I usually eat rather low-fat-ly but anyway).

also this page told you that some people end up going to the hospital after this "treatment." to, you know, have the surgery they were trying so desperately to avoid.

I'm working up to my happy october post. It'll be here eventually. But in the meantime:

natalie dee made me a glad glad girl today. see? goes along with my PPE post. ha!


do go check out nataliedee.com. she rocks. and rolls. and rules. and y'know, stuff. it was kind of fun to get to read a bunch of her new comics all in one sitting. oh and another fun link for you word nerds out there (which is probably mostly me but some of you will enjoy this I'm sure)--cnn did a nice little ditty on awful words named for real people. interesting, no?

and I want kinda these shoes. to replace my other pair of rocketdogs--at least for wearing other than work purposes, since they have been damaged since march. my toe, however, remains unscathed. knock on--um, plastic?

perhaps a birthday present from me to myself? we shall see.

chalk one up for the wonderfulness that is october.

oh, and. I received some lovely orchids yesterday/today (the ups folks left 'em at the office--but here's a picture I found online when I googled their type) and it came with a perfect quote--

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

nail. head. hit.

I miss my granddad still, and I'm a little nervous about seeing all of the church people and hearing their very well meant "I'm sorry"s, and it was hard today when a coworker had printed out the obituary thing from the funeral home to bring to me.

but I think that quote makes me feel a little better. and pretty flowers have only once failed to put me in a better mood, and this time ain't it. :)

so tonight is choir. which I will love despite being apprehensive (the last time I went was the 12th). and then tomorrow is thursday--I get to see Matt, it's almost the weekend, and it'll only be nineteen days until it's my birthday. no, scratch that, my best birthday yet.

see, I'm getting there. let me get warmed up on the positiveness. (positive patty, kat. or pam. or petunia. that's my fave.) I'll have you gagging yourself with a spoon on my overly-jubilant and effusive (and sometimes mushy) ramblings in no time!

oh yeah, the joke.

A cowboy walks into a bar. He's wearing jeans made of brown wrapping paper. And his shirt is made of paper. As is his vest. And his chaps, his belt and its buckle, his hat and his boots. His spurs are made of paper, too.

He orders a beer and sits at the bar to drink it. And pretty soon the sheriff comes in and arrests him for rustling.




ha!

ps, for you non-up-with-the-lingo folks, see #6.

"it's good to have you back"

~mbf, after one of the typical snarky carrie comments.

i'm feeling a little like the morton salt girl--you know, when it rains, it pours.

I'm back in NC now. It was really nice to sleep in my own bed--and Hazel in all her cuteness actually got underneath the covers, between the sheet and the blanket, to cuddle with me. It was both warm and precious, and she'd never done it before, and it made me happy.

I almost didn't come back yesterday, though. You see, I spent Sunday sick--in bed or in the bathroom--think of any gross stomach related thing and add a healthy dose of stomach cramps and pain and I think you'll get the gist. I actually moaned in pain. It was miserable. It was like the first time only slightly less intense.

If it hadn't been $286 to get another flight (I'd pricelined the first so I was kinda SOL) I might've changed it. But it was good to come home, and I started feeling a bit better starting around 10pm on Sunday, so I was able to make it back. I must've been quite a sight though--especially with how I kept running out of steam and had to sit down every six or seven gates or so. I tried to be nonchalant about it though--oh, I have to tie my shoe! I'll just sit here for a bit! my sweatshirt needs to be adjusted!--in retrospect it's amusing, a little. It sucks feeling so weak.

I'm on the upswing though. I'm eating regular-ish food, so that's good. And I got to see Matt, and that always makes me feel better. and we watched heroes, and I caught up on grey's (jackie, I teared up at the three blinks too) and desperate, so it was nice to be a couch potato.

tomorrow I go in for the abdominal ultrasound. and I talked to my doctor and now she finally agrees that it might be the gall bladder after all. and I even did something very un-carrie-like--which pained me to do it, but I'm glad I did--I emailed all of the committees/groups/things I do at church and told them how I might not be really reliable right now, that if I'm too tired or too stressed or have an "episode" I'm sorry but I won't be there. That I can't. And soon I'll be emailing other things to tell them all this too.

and if you know me at all, you know I hate hate hate not doing the things I've volunteered to do. but I'm also kind of proud of myself for admitting that I can't.

also, I think my tummy problems are both fatty food and stress related. which seems a little circular to me--if you're stressed out about things (death of a close family member, money, having an as-of-yet-unidentified medical issue, your obligations) and you're having to squeeze everything in, what are you most likely to eat? Fast. Food. which is what? say it with me people--fatty.

double grr with a side of grr sauce, table of one.
but only if the grr sauce is fat free, please.

so, for positiveness and stress relief:

-I took a stress quiz today (okay, three) and they told me I'm stressed (okay, extremely) and one of the things it said to do was make a real effort to write, yes write, about your problems. hello, excuse for blogging. :)
-money is just money. it will all be okay in the long run. really.
-i really liked having lunch with jackie on friday. It was nice to have a break from my personal reality and get to hear about the goings-on in someone else's life. I shall have to schedule fun meal dates with my friends for a mental break.
-my boyfriend is spectacular. and a total goof. y'all wouldn't believe it if I told you.
-it is wonderfully wonderful to know that just by my being there I made my granny feel better. she actually cried on the phone yesterday while telling me how much she loves me and how glad she is to have me in her life and how lucky we are to have such a close relationship. by the way, this was in the airport in atlanta during my go-seven-gates-then-sit series. seriously, I must've looked a fool. but it was worth it.
-i get to be excited about little things. like eating yogurt. and eggs and toast. and now I have a great excuse for eating sushi (it's low low low fat!)
-it is already tuesday.
-i finished another book--big fish was really good. I think I liked it better as a movie, but only because the visuals were incredible. I wish some of the stories from the book had been included though..it was heartwarming and fun read though, for sure.
-the weather is gorgeous!
-sleeping on my 500 thread count cotton sheets from overstock.com after sleeping in old not-as-nice sheets (though with an admittedly cuter/kitschier/seventies-er pattern) made me realized they were totally worth the money (and worth waiting for the good deal on, too!)
-my photo got an honorable mention in the work contest--the judge said he liked the perspective, that it would've been almost impossible to get the exposure right, and that the color was awesome. considering that it was my only 8x10, my fave of the photos I entered, and that the nature category is the most competitive, I'll take my honorable mention, thanks. :)
-IT IS MY VERY FAVORITE MONTH OF THE YEAR!I made a list last year, but I'll have to do another one for this year. perhaps later today, should I have another negative nellie moment?